Zooplankton and Micronekton products from the CMEMS Catalogue for better monitoring of Marine Resources and Protected Species

Since 2019, the Copernicus Marine portfolio is providing a new model-based product on Zooplankton and Micronekton, representing the low and mid-trophic levels (LMTL) of the ocean food chain (Global Ocean low and mid trophic levels biomass multi year product: ). Zooplankton are organisms in the size range of less than 1 to a few millimeters (e.g., copepods) constituting prey of all fish larvae and small pelagic fish species (e.g herring, sardines and anchovies). Micronekton are also relatively small but actively swimming organisms such as crustaceans, fish, and cephalopods that are typically about 1 to 10 centimeters in size. Micronekton are prey of large fish and other oceanic predators. They are also predators of fish larvae. Therefore, zooplankton and micronekton distributions are key explanatory variables to understand fish recruitment mechanisms, individual behaviour of satellite tracked individuals of protected species (e.g., marine turtles, seabirds, sharks and marine mammals), and dynamics of large populations of fish species either targeted by fisheries (mackerel, tuna, swordfish, etc.) or strictly controlled in by-catch (e.g., bluefin tuna or sharks). The product includes 2-dimensional (latitude-longitude) maps of biomass for zooplankton and groups of micronekton on a weekly basis from 1998 to 2018 at a 25 km horizontal resolution. It is a model-based estimation of micronekton biomass, relying on the most possible realistic forcings (temperature, currents and primary production) assimilating satellite and in situ data. Continuous progress in the development and validation of these new models and products will help to reduce our knowledge gaps and will also support the Science & Climate sector as zooplankton and micronekton are key to better quantifying the carbon uptake and storage in the ocean, known as the “biological carbon pump”.